Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Spring 2009 is HISTORY!

Ugh. I don't know if I've ever been so glad to say goodbye a class (since Spring 2007, anyway). I had some real a--holes in my big freshmen course and I'm just glad they are gone. I finished grading Sunday morning, but spent ALL DAY yesterday helping H finish his. His TA had left town early for a family issue, and he had a late exam, so was in bad shape. I graded term papers and was dismayed to see that they were just as bad as my first-year student papers. It actually made me kind of depressed and feeling like it's a waste to assign papers in lower level classes. He also had several cases of plagiarism- worse than I've had in my class, too. Neither of us are teaching this summer, so at least we get a break from THAT kind of work for a while.

This summer should be interesting: I am advising a summer research student (she'll arrive in two weeks), and H is going to Very Distant Country for almost four weeks. D is still in school (until June 10th), so we'll be here just the two of us during that time. He hasn't been home in five years, but the trip is both personal and work-related. He'll be back here just in time for Father's Day. In July, we are taking a 10-day trip to Adopted Home State. We will leave D at my mom's for part of the trip, and take a vacation to Lovely Coastal City to celebrate our 10th anniversary. The only trip we've taken without D was a conference trip near my mom's (we didn't have a honeymoon), so it will be a different kind of trip for us.

Otherwise, I have a list of research-related things that I need to do this summer. I always start out with good intentions, but end up fizzling out once D is out of school. I will do my best to be productive for the next four weeks, but it will be challenging with H getting ready for that trip.

Thanks for visiting!

I started this blog (in 2005) to share my experiences as an early career college professor with friends, family, or anyone who is interested.

Comments are welcome. I have chosen to keep this pseudonymous, so if you do post a comment, please do not use names (if you already know me). Please share your thoughts about university life on the tenure-track, as a student, as a grad student, or anything else!